Steering-wheel lock



Feb. 20", 1923. 1,445,866..

0. ANDERSON. STEERING WHEEL LOCK.

- FILED APR. 3, 1922. 4 SHEETSSHEET l.

Feb EH, 1923.. Y 1,445,866.

0. ANDERSON. STEERING WHEEL LOCK.

HLED' APR. 3. 1922. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Feb 29,, 1923..

O. ANDERSON.

STEERING WHEEL LOCK.

FILED APR. 3| 1922- 4 SHEETS-SHEET a v Feb. 20 1923,

0. ANDERSON. STEERING WHEEL LIOCK.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

man APR. 2. 1922.

o'r'roannnnson, orcnntrnitnnn, OHIO.

srnnaine-wnnnr noon.

Application filed April 3,

To all whom it may concern: f Be it known that I, O'r'ro i'titnnnsoina citizen of the Government. of tiwedentresiding at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga o and titate ot'lhiio, have invented certain [new and useful improvements in Steeringii/Vheel Locks of which the following is a y Fig. 6 lS a Idetail of one of the operating spectively oi? Fig. 8 and Fig.

specification.

i This invention relates tosteering wheel looks and to the manner of attachin the wheel to the steering post.

lit is of that type in which when the device is docked in inoperative position the wheel will, rotate freely upon the steering;

post and when moved into operative positionwill be locked. to the steering post. ."l lie loclritsel'li is of the combination type and has a plunger or holtwhich controls the connecting"means between the steering wheel and thesteering. post in either the operative or the inoperatlve position as desired. y In thedrawingsFi g. 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel equipped with my device; 2 is a plan view of the lock, the cover b position, part of the steering wheel column being 1n section ;,F1g. 8 1s a view similar to llig' 2 showmgthe parts 1n a dill'erent DOSL tion and also partially broken away to show more clearly the design; of some of the parts; Fin. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the lock, the cover being removed with .theparts in a still different position; Fig.

. dogs; Fig.7 is a fragmentary section on the Q YT7 OfF1PQ- 2, SllOWlIlQ'llliG manner of top ative position; Fig. 9 is a view similar showing; the parts in an opera tive position; Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are sectiO nSiOn the lines 1010 l1 11. 12-12, to-

on the line 13-1 3 out Fig.9.

Referrmgto the drawings by reierence numerals, 1 indicates a spider having): a

fwheel 2 attached thereon and a box 4i cast" integral with the splder', sald box containinn; thelock mechanism and 5 indicates a hub which is also cast ntegral with the spider 1. The hub 5 isghollow, the interiorof the upper end being hexagonal asat 6,

and the interior at the lower end being elrcular as at 7. [8 indicates thesteering removed showing the parts in one.

. y ing the coverrFi r. 8 is a section on the lin 8+8 of 1 showin he parts in m- 13 is a section fieae. Serial no. 549,065.

shattyand the mechanism :for connecting the hub 5 and consequently the steering Wheel tothe steering shaft is mounted around the steering shait 8 andwithin the hub 5. 9 is thec l lun1n or casing for the steering shaft and has its upper end reduced as indicated at 10 within the lower end of the hub 5.

Attached to the steering shaft- 8 by a pin. 11 directly above the casing 9 is a circular member 12 which has alternate tongues or projections 13 and cut-out parts 14- which are adapted to interlock or clutch with cutout parts 15 and tongues 16 of a movable sleeve member 17.

y and a spring 20 is mounted therein the upper .end of said spring bearing against a ring: 21. the spring normally tending to hold the member 17 in the raised position shown in Fig. 8. i y

The member 17 is locked in the position shown at Fig. 8 by a pin 22, which isoperated by. the lock mechanism. working; through a hole 23 inthehub into a hole 524: in the member l7; s y

In order to lock the wheel to the steermg' shaft the lock mechanism is operated to withdraw the pin 22. from the hole 24 and then the member 17 is forced downwardly by a lever 25 operated by a knob 26 until the. tongues 13 and 16 interlock and then the piir22 is advanced by the lock mechanism into a hole 2.7, whereby the wheel is locked to theshatt and the latter will turn with the wheel. as .shown iii-Fig. 9 when the pm 22 is again retracted the spring 21 will force the member 17 upwardly, which will cause the clutch prongs 13 and 16 to disengage and consequently allow the wheel to rotate freely upon. the shaft 8.

2-8 is a. collarwhich is pinned to the up per endot the shaft 8 above the hub 5 which will preventthe wheelbemg removed from the steering shaft 8, .and 29 indlcates the horn button, the wires coming up through the hole 30 within the steering shaft.

y The locking mechanism for operating the pin 22 will now be described. A plurality of disks 31 (3 being shownin the drawmgs) are rotatably mounted upon a shaft 32 can ried by a base plate which is inserted in the bottom of the lock housing 4 and retained there in any suitable manner such as by nuts and bolts 34. Mounted upon each of the wheels 31 and connected thereto is a ratchet member 36 which has all the teeth thereon alike except the tooth indicated at 36 the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. Each of said disksBl has a cutout part 37 therein.

The disks are rotated by dogs 38, said dogs having' a bell crank )ortion 39 thereto and being pivoted as at 40 to plungers 41 or to right angles extensions 42 of the two outside. plungers 41.

A spring 43 is connected to each of the arms 39 and serves a two-fold purpose; namely. first it holds the dog 38 in engagement with the ratchets and it also returns the plungers 41 to their normal position it being understood that in order to operate one of the ratchets 35, a plunger 41 is pushed in.

The dogs 38 have projections 44 which engage the teeth. of the ratchet and the ends of saiddogs are turned as indicated at 45 and slide over the teeth of the ratchets when the dog is being; returned to its normal position by the spring 43.

The pin 22. is mounted on ablock 46 said block havin a )ro'ection 47 on the o a )osite n l l l l side from the pin 22 and at the opposite end of the block 46. The block 46 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 3; that is, the locked position, by a spring 48, and said block is adapted to be moved back and forth within guideways 49 by a lever 50 which is pivoted to. a post 51, and attached to the underside of the block 46 by a pin 52.

. The block 46 has a hole 53 in one end thereof for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Another pl unger 54 is mounted beside the lever 50 and extends into the housing 4 and is bent as indicated at 55 and then extends straight again. as at 56, the part 56 working within aguide 57, and said part 56 has a pin 58 thereon which fits in a hole 59 in one of the guides 49.

The plunger 54 is normally held in the retracted position shown by a spring '60 which is coiled about the post 51.

. there being a cover 64 thereon.

The, plungers41 and springs 43 are mounted in guides 61 which are attached to the base plate by nuts and bolts 62 and 63 Springs 43 are attached. to the rear guide 62 and be- ,neath the part 65 of the top 64.

Dogs 66 operatedbysprings 67 engage the tleeth of the ratchets 35 and prevent back sip.

A cover'68 is placed over the lock inecha nism and held there by two catches 69 which engage under lugs 70 on one side of the casing projecting upwardly from one of the guides in and the other end hold by a downwardly projecting member II wnich 1:,

hooked. as at T2 and engages under the curved part 55 oi the plunger 5S4.

spring is mounted on the post 31 and The disks 31 are respectively rotated by the plungel's 4-1 and dogs 38 out il the notches 37 are all brought in alignment with each other (lirertly opposite the extension l? in the block 4-6 as is clearly shown in l-in'. This is done in the jlollowinpj manner. lVhen theplunmn's 41 are pushed int the dog 36 will be caused to more the ratchet iii tho distance of one tooth, the tooth bein all equally spaced. and on the return stroke ot the dog 38 caused by the spring 4? the hooked end 45 will ride over the teeth on the ratchet and cause a clicking Round. hen the (log 66 rides over the double tooth 216 it will give a double click wh ch can be heard by the oiiicrator. He will then know that he will have to move that particular disk 131 a certain number oi teeth past the point where he hears the double clicking to bring the notch 37 to the proper position. The ratchets may be set to any desired position on t it disks 31 and the operator must know just how many times he has to press the several plungers 41 in order to bring: the respective disks 31 to the correct position For unlocking.

The ratchcts 5b) are attached to the disks 31 by pins 35 on the ratchcts. entering holes 31: in the disks 3!. so that they can be changed from one position to another and in this manner the combination of the lock can be changed.

lVhen notches 3'7 are all brought into alignment opposite the lug; -17 on the block 46, the lever 50 is operated. which will cause the block 46 to slide backward bringing the extension 4-7 within the notches 37 and withdrawing: the pin 22 From either the hole 24 or 27 in the member 17 as the case may be. Then the member 17 can be operated by the lever 25 and handle 26 thereon to bring it into engagement with the member 12 it it is out of engagement. As was stated heretofore it the member 17 is in engagement with the member 12 the spring 21 will disengage the two members when the pin 22 is with drawn 'fron'i the hole 27. When the lever to is released the spring: 48 will cause the block 46 to move in the opposite direction and consequently cause the pin 22 to enter either the hole 24 or 27 as the case may be. Then any one or all'of the plungers 41 may be operated which will cause the cut-out paits 37 in the disks 31 to be moved and reset the lock and consequently prevent any move ment of the block 46 and consequently the s tense i i p v r m pin 22. i In order to remove the cover 68 the notches 37 are brought into the position tor unlocking shovvnin Fig. 3 and the pressure is applied to the plunger 54: and at the same time the lever 1S operated slowly until the block 46 has moved such a distance that the hole 53 will be brought opposite thepin 58 on the end of plunger 54.

which will allow the plunger 5ft to then be moved inwardly such a dlstance that the part thereof will bemoved tromovor the hook part 72 ot' the catch 71 and. the spring 75 will cause oneend of the cover to be raised slightly so that it can be grasped. readily and the spring will return the plunger 54: to its normal position.

From the above description it will be seen i that I provide a shifting clutch or connection between the steering wheel and its shaft, this connection inoludmg a clutch member which slides up and down on the shaft, within the hub o l? the wheel. When the clutch memberis slid up the clutch disengaged and the wheel will turn freely on the shaft, so that the automobile cannot be steered; but when the clutch member is pushed down it will engage the fitted memto which it is shifted.

her carried by the steering shaft, and since the slidable clutch member is nonrotatably mounted in the hub of the wheel, the shaft will accordingly be turned by the wheel. As described, the shifting clutch member is locked in either of its positions by the corn bination lock device described, and it may be noted that the lock bolt does not takethe strain of the steering, but merely acts to hold the movableclutch member in the position The lock itself is a combination lock which depends for its operation on a double click or audible sound which must be heard by the operator and which gives him the clue for setting the tumblers or controllingdisks in such position that the bolt can be retracted It istherefore n'actically impossible to pick the loole The look also includes a removable cover which is held in place by devices controlled by the tumblers.

1. The combination of a steering shaft, a wheel thereon having a hub enclosing "the upper end of the shaft, a fined clutch mems her on the shaft within the hub a sliding clutch member on. the shaft and nonrotatably mounted in the hub, a spring between the fixed and movable clutch members tending to disengage the latter, a lever working through the hub and adapted to shift the per end of the shaft and-resting on thecolumn, a clutch member fixed to the shaft.

within said space, a clutch member slidable in said space lengthwise of the shaft, into and out of engagement with the lined clutch member, said slidable clutch member being rotatable with respect to the shaft and nonrotatable with respect to the hub a spring tending to separate the olutchmembers, a lever working through the hub and engaging the slidable clutch member to shii't the same into engagement with the fixed clutch member, and a lock carried on the hub and having abolt working through the hub to engagen'ient with the slidable clutch member, to hold thesame in either position;

In testimony whereof, I afiiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

. OTTO ANDERSON. Witnesses:

JOHN A. BOMMHARDT, BESSIE F. PQLLAK. 

